We walked back from the museum to the hotel and surrendered our keys for checkout. We were scheduled for seven hours of free time. Some of the students invited me on a three-hour boat trip from Chania Harbor. Thank you, Class Clown, for always thinking to include me. We bought our tickets, and the group of young women I had come with bargained with the owner for a discount since we were such a large group (16 in all, I think, once the guys joined us later). The old man also owned a taverna on the harbor, so he gave us certificates for discounted meals. We went to the taverna, and everyone suggested trying "toast," which was really a panini sandwich.

I sat near Wreath of Roses and Blink Blink, two of the students from SOU. Somehow we got to talking about how Wreath and I are about the same height (or lack of height, in this case), and Blink Blink asked very innocently and sincerely, "Do you legally qualify as a midget, then?"

Wreath started talking about how glad she was to have been encouraged to study abroad. Blink Blink said she had always felt a special call to Greece, and then this opportunity came along that fit perfectly with her communication major. We all started crying, moved to joy.